The Kingdom of Jesus.
Christ enters the world and gives us a vision for a new life, a new community, a new world– a new Kingdom. Put simply, the Kingdom of Jesus is what life looks like when God is in charge.
“The Kingdom of God is at Hand, Repent and believe in the Gospel.”
– Mark 1:14
The Gospel that Jesus preached.
In the first century a Jewish prophet, named Jesus, emerged from the Judean wilderness with an announcement; “the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel!” (Mark 1:14). God’s conspiracy to take back His good creation from Satan, Sin, and Death has begun in the person of Jesus. And Jesus’ invitation to each of us is to join in his new life, his new community, and his new world – a new Kingdom.
We enter this new Kingdom through the water of Baptism– it is a naturalization ceremony in which our allegiance is transferred from the nations of our world to the Kingdom of God (Phil. 3:30-21).
In Midtown as it
is in Heaven.
Rethink Everything; An invitation to be a student of Jesus.
Jesus’ good news includes instructions for his would-be followers; “...repent and believe” (Mark 1:14); this is not simply a call to mind your manners and say your prayers. Jesus’ Gospel is nothing less than a call to change your allegiance. In repentance, we rethink everything –priorities, schedule, spending, relationships– and work to reorient the whole of our lives to this Kingdom culture.
Because Jesus is our king, we have different ways of living. We commit to learning the culture, values, and teachings of Jesus and unlearning the ways of our previous world. The whole of our lives works to become naturalized citizens to the Kingdom of God.
“We are built to live in the Kingdom of God. It is our natural habitat.”
–Dallas Willard
Values of the Kingdom.
The Church’s responsibility has never been to build, establish, or advance God’s Kingdom; He is fully capable of that. As the Church, our task is to bear witness to the Kingdom of God by living out its values and testifying to its presence.
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
– Acts 2:42–47 (ESV)
